Pull

ABSTRACT

A pull for a panel front includes a panel opening having an elongated J-shaped trim element secured to its upper edge. Formation of this upper edge permits acceptance and rigid retention of the trim element by means of lock tabs integral with the trim element.

United Staies Eaieni Fusselman Mar. 7, 1972 54] PULL 2,771,627 11/1956 Hammer ..16/124 3,117,339 1/1964 Vigna ....312/320 [721 M'Fmmywngswwn'ohm 1,976,118 10/1934 Cruikshank ..16/124 [73] Assignee: The General Fireproofing Company,

Youngstown, Ohio [22] Filed: May 7, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 35,349

[52] 11.8. C1. ..l6/l24, 312/320, 312/330 [51] Int. Cl. A47b 95/02 [58] Field of Search ..312/320, 330; 16/1105, 124

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,309,882 2/1943 Besclierer a 3 2 Primary Examiner-Bobby R. Gay

Assistant Examiner-Doris L. Troutrnan Attorney-Emory L. Grofi and Emory L. Grofl, Jr.

9 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PAIENTEBMR H 2 3,646,634

sum 1 [1F 2 14 INVENTOR ROBERT M T115512 LMAN ATTORNEY PATENTEDMAR 71972 3, 646,634

SHEET 2 [IF 2 INVENTOR ROBERT M .FussELMAN ATTORNEY PULL This invention relates generally to a pull and more particularly to a pull construction especially adapted for use on drawers, doors, trays or the like.

Numerous forms of pulls have been provided in the past to permit the manual rectilinear or pivotal displacement of the front of a drawer or door. Perhaps the best known of such devices has comprised a knob, handle or bar element adapted to be surface-mounted upon the front panel of the article. Present-day construction, on the other hand, has leaned more towards the flush-mounted type of pull resulting in a clean or smooth line which precludes the use of the more ornate type of pull heretofore extending from the plane of the front of the article. Many attempts have been made to provide the desired flush-mounted-type pull; however, these have involved, for the most part, a radical alteration in the construction of the front of the article as well as the necessity to provide a plurality of specially constructed elements which additionally increase the cost thereof due to the time-consuming labor necessary to assemble them.

The present invention relates to an improved pull construction which is readily adaptable to the front panel member of an article and requires a minimum amount of alteration of this panel construction. Additionally, a unique elongated trim element is proposed and which cooperates with a specially formed element integral with the panel front to permit instantaneous attachment of the trim strip without the necessity of any separate fastening members or the use of any tools.

Accordingly, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide an improved pull construction for the front panel of an article including an interior housing disposed behind a panel front opening and also including an elongated trim element which is snap-fitted onto the panel front adjacent an edge of said panel opening.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved pull construction including a snap-fitted elongated trim element having an exposed front strip flush-mounted with the face of the panel front of the article.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a pull construction including a snap-fitted elongated trim element having a front strip surface-mounted upon the panel front of an article.

With these and other objects in view which will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the invention consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a form of pull according to the present invention as applied to the panel front of a drawer.

FIG. 2 is a partial exploded perspective view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 1 as viewed from the rear thereof.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. I and illustrates the pull construction in its assembled condition.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a modification of the present invention as viewed from the rear of the pull assembly.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view illustrating the components shown in FIG. 4 as they appear in the assembled condition.

FIG. 6 is a front perspective view of the drawer pull shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 as they appear in the assembled condition.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings, particularly FIG. 1, the present invention will be seen to comprise a pull construction which may readily be applied to the panel front 1 of any of several articles such as a drawer, door, tray or the like. In the formation of the pull according to the present invention, the selected panel front 1 is initially punched or cut to provide a square or rectangular opening 2. The selected dimension of this opening 2 is preferably sufficient to provide a comfortable access to the rear of the panel front 1 by the four fingers of one hand of the user. Thus, it will be understood that the horizontal or longitudinal axis of the opening 2 should be at least 5 inches long while the vertical extent of the opening should be no less than 1 inch. As will be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, during the formation of the panel opening 2, a specially constructed depending lip 3 having a downwardly facing edge 3a is formed along the top of the panel opening. This lip 3 is displaced rearwardly from the face of the panel and thus disposed in a vertical plane set back from the panel front an amount substantially equal to the thickness of the material comprising this panel front. The top portion of the depending lip 3 is joined to the adjacent material of the panel front by means of an offset portion 4 having a top abutment surface which is inclined upwardly from the top of the depending lip towards the panel front.

In order to define the hand-engageable recess 5 immediately to the rear of the opening 2, a backup housing generally designated 6 is attached to the rear surface In of the panel front and preferably comprises an open-top member including a vertical rear wall 7, a bottom wall 8, and oppositely disposed sidewalls 99. These sidewalls as well as the bottom wall 8 each include an outwardly extending mounting flange 10 adapted to flushly engage the rear surface In of the panel front and which may be fixedly attached thereto by any suitable means such as the spot-welding indicated at 11. The purpose of providing an open-top housing 6 will be apparent when considering the manner of utilizing the present pull wherein the users hand, with palm up, is directed through the panel opening 2 whereafter the fingers are curled upwardly to engage the area of the panel front juxtaposed the rear surface In thereof above the depending lip 3. With the open-top arrangement of the housing 6, the tips of the fingers will not be encumbered as they would be if a solid top wall were included in the housing and thus the pull construction is readily adaptable to use by operators having fingers of different lengths. Additionally, by utilizing a fixed height for the top edge 6' of the housing such as immediately above the level of the panel lip 3, a significant savings in material is realized inasmuch as no practical purpose would be realized in extending the housing higher than the users eye level as determined by the lip 3 or the installed trim element, yet to be described.

In order to complete the construction, an elongated trim element, generally designated 12 is attached to the panel front 1 adjacent the upper portion of the panel opening 2. This trim element which will be seen to be generally J-shaped, includes a vertically disposed rear plate 13 and a front trim plate 14 which are joined together at their lower portions by means of the U-shaped lower portion 15. The front trim strip 14 will be seen to be disposed in a plane parallel to the rear plate 13 and thus provides therebetween a channel 16, the lateral extent of which is sufficient to provide a close sliding fit with respect to the depending lip 3 of the panel front 1. In order to secure the trim element 12 in place, at least a pair of lock tabs l7l7 are provided in the rear plate 13. These tabs 17 are an integral part of the single-piece trim element 12 and are struck forwardly from the rear plate 13 in order to provide a substantially downwardly facing locking shoulder 18 on the lower exposed surface thereof, which shoulder will be seen to be disposed above the channel 16. Additional features of the construction of the trim element 12 include the provision that the vertical extent of the depth of the channel 16 is no less than the vertical extent of the depending lip 3 of the panel front, for reasons which will become obvious hereinafter. Also, it will be understood that the locking shoulder l8 will be disposed at a point which is above the plane of the top edge 19 of the front trim strip 14.

The attachment of the trim element 12 is a sirnple'matter, requiring neither additional fastening elements nor the use of any special tools. The trim element 12 such as viewed in FIG. 2 of the drawings, is inserted through the panel opening 2 with the top edge 20 of the rear plate 13 being inserted inwardly and upwardly behind the depending lip 3 of the panel front 1.

In view of the forwardly projecting lock tabs 17, it will be apparent that the top edge of the trim element will be canted slightly rearwardly away from the rear surface la of the panel front in order to permit the depending lip 3 to be inserted between the lock shoulder 18 of the lock tabs and the top edge 19 of the front trim strip 14. Thereafter, upward pressure is applied to the bottom of the U-shaped lower portion 15 which necessarily will cause a slight deformation of the lock tabs 17 as the depending lip 3 is forced downwardly towards the bottom of the channel 16. Concurrently with the positioning of the top edge 19 at a point immediately juxtaposed the outer surface of the offset portion 4 of the panel front, it will be seen that the lock tabs 17 will be disposed in abutting relationship with the rear surface of the offset portion 4 as viewed in FIG. 3 of the drawings, thereby resulting in a rigidly attached trim element and thus completing the installation of this embodiment of the pull.

A surface-mounted arrangement may be provided by use of the pull which is shown in the embodiment of FIGS. 4-6 wherein, as will be seen most clearly in FIGS. 5 and 6, the trim element 120 is mounted to provide a front trim strip 14 which projects outwardly from the plane of the outer surface of the panel front 1. In this variation, the elongated trim element 12a is substantially alike the trim element 12 previously described with the exception that the spacing between the parallel portions forming the Ushaped lower section 15, is preferably no less than twice the thickness of the material comprising the panel front as opposed to the corresponding spacing in the trim element 12 which is preferably no less than the thickness of the front panel 1.

In the formation of this embodiment, at the time the panel opening 2 is punched from the panel front 1, instead of providing a rearwardly offset depending lip 3 as in the first described embodiment, the upper edge of the panel opening 2 is formed by bending a portion of the front panel material rearwardly 180 to provide an upstanding rear flange positioned juxtaposed the rear surface la of the panel front.

With the above-described construction in mind, it will be seen that the trim element 12a may be attached to the top edge of the panel opening 2 by urging the channel 16a towards the bottom downwardly facing edge 26 of the folded rear flange 25 and forcing the trim element upwardly so that the bottom edge 26 is moved between the front trim strip 14 and the rear plate 13 until it is nestled within the bottom of the U- shaped lower section 15, at which point the forwardly struck lock tabs 17 which were biased rearwardly during the preceding installation step will snap forwardly as they ciear the top offset abutment edge 27 of the rear flange 25. The trim element 12a will thus be rigidly snap-fitted in position with the locking shoulder 18 of each of the lock tabs 17 firmly resisting any withdrawal of the trim element.

A slightly modified backup housing 6a is shown in association with this second modification. However, it will be understood that either one of the housings 6 or 60 may be utilized in combination with either one of the elongated trim elements 12 or 12a. The housing 60 includes a vertical rear wall 28 bounded at either side by a vertical sidewall 29-29 and including an inclined bottom wall 30 which will be seen to slope downwardly from the rear wall 28 towards the plane of the front edge of the sidewalls 29 while each of the sidewalls as well as the bottom wall includes an outwardly directed mounting flange 31. Depending upon the specific environment within which the present invention is associated, the upwardly and rearwardly inclined hand-engageable recess 5a may be preferred over the more rectangular configuration of the hand-engageable recess 5.

1 claim:

1. A pull for a movable panel front comprising, an elongated trim element, said panel front provided with an opening including a downwardly facing edge, said trim element having a rear plate joined at its bottom to a front trim strip, said trim strip spaced from said rear plate to define a channel therebetween, means on said panel front above said downwardly facing edge and offset rearwardly from the plane of said panel front providing an upwardly facing abutment surface, lock means on said trim element rear plate extending forwardly to overlie said channel, and said lock means comprising a tab having a downwardly facing locking shoulder disposed at a point engageable with said panel front upwardly facing abutment surface when said panel front downwardly facing edge is fully nested within said channel to rigidly lock said trim element to said panel frorit and preclude subsequent displacement therebetween.

2. A pull for a movable panel front according to claim 1, wherein said front trim strip and said rear plate are substantially parallel and include a lower connecting U-shaped portion.

3. A pull for a movable panel front according to claim 1, wherein said front trim strip and said rear plate each include a top edge and said rear plate top edge extends a substantially greater height than said trim strip top edge whereby a .I- shaped trim element is provided.

4. A pull for a movable panel front according to claim 1, wherein said panel front downwardly facing edge comprises the lower surface of a depending lip located in a vertical plane disposed rearwardly from said panel front.

5. A pull for a movable panel front according to claim 4, wherein the material of said panel front and depending lip is of constant thickness and the spacing in said channel is selected to provide a double-engaging'sliding tit upon mounting on said lip.

6. A pull for a movable panel front according to claim 1, wherein said panel front downwardly facing edge comprises the lower surface of a rear flange overlying the back side of said panel front.

7. A pull for a movable panel front according to claim 6, wherein the combined thickness of said panel front and rear flange material substantially corresponds to the spacing in said channel to provide a sliding fit upon mounting of said channel about said downwardly facing edge.

8. A pull for a movable panel front according to claim 6, wherein said rear flange includes a top edge providing said upwardly facing abutment surface.

9. A pull for a movable panel front according to claim 8, wherein the height of said rear flange is substantially less than that of said trim element rear plate.

l I It t 

1. A pull for a movable panel front comprising, an elongated trim element, said panel front provided with an opening including a downwardly facing edge, said trim element having a rear plate joined at its bottom to a front trim strip, said trim strip spaced from said rear plate to define a channel therebetween, means on said panel front above said downwardly facing edge and offset rearwardly from the plane of said panel front providing an upwardly facing abutment surface, lock means on said trim element rear plate extending forwardly to overlie said channel, and said lock means comprising a tab having a downwardly facing locking shoulder disposed at a point engageable with said panel front upwardly facing abutment surface when said panel front downwardly facing edge is fully nested within said channel to rigidly lock said trim element to said panel front and preclude subsequent displacement therebetween.
 2. A pull for a movable panel front according to claim 1, wherein said front trim strip and said rear plate are substantially parallel and include a lower connecting U-shaped portion.
 3. A pull for a movable panel front according to claim 1, wherein said front trim strip and said rear plate each include a top edge and said rear plate top edge extends a substantially greater height than said trim strip top edge whereby a J-shaped trim element is provided.
 4. A pull for a movable panel front according to claim 1, wherein said panel front downwardly facing edge comprises the lower surface of a depending lip located in a vertical plane disposed rearwardly from said panel front.
 5. A pull for a movable panel front according to claim 4, wherein the material of said panel front and depending lip is of constant thickness and the spacing in said channel is selected to provide a double-engaging sliding fit upon mounting on said lip.
 6. A pull for a movable panel front according to claim 1, wherein said panel front downwardly facing edge comprises the lower surface of a rear flange overlying the back side of said panel front.
 7. A pull for a movable panel front according to claim 6, wherein the combined thickness of said panel front and rear flange material substantially corresponds to the spacing in said channel to provide a sliding fit upon mounting of said channel about said downwardly facing edge.
 8. A pull for a movable panel front according to claim 6, wherein said rear flange includes a top edge providing said upwardly facing abutment surface.
 9. A pull for a movable panel front according to claim 8, wherein the height of said rear flange is substantially less than that of said trim element rear plate. 